Test & Fix Water for Kids at Family Child Care Homes

If your Family Child Care Home has has not participated in the Test and Fix Water for Kids program before, or if you’ve changed locations, you are eligible to enroll in this program to receive free lead testing and, if needed, free remediation (fixing lead issues in the water).

Application for Lead Testing in Drinking Water for Family Child Care Homes

After you apply, here’s what will happen next:

• The Test & Fix Water for Kids team will review your application to see if you are eligible. You will receive an email and/or phone call from our contractor to confirm. We will start reaching out in October 2025. If you apply after that time, you can expect to hear back from us in about two weeks.  
• Free Lead Testing and Remediation: Once you connect with our contractor, they will schedule a visit to your facility, perform a walk-through to identify your water sources, collect water samples or send a sampling kit, help plan your sampling, and follow up with your testing results.
• Voluntary Participation: This program is currently voluntary, meaning you have the choice to participate. Participation ensures your family child care home gets free testing and funding for remediation if lead is found, helping to keep the water safe for the children in your care.

Please note: As part of this program, priority will be given to sampling in communities that are disproportionately affected by environmental and health disparities. Our goal is to ensure equitable access to clean and safe water for all children across Colorado. Please let us know if your facility is serving one of these communities.

Need Help?

• Email us at TestandFixWater@state.co.us 

Once your application is accepted, the next step is to create a simple water sampling plan for your family child care home. We want to test all locations where the water is used for cooking or drinking. The goal is to create a list of these locations at your facility. These typically include kitchen sinks, refrigerator water dispensers, or any other location used for drinking or cooking for the children in your care. Please note this does not include all water sources in your house - just those used in your family child care business.

Our contractor will contact you to identify your home’s water sources. The contractor will use an online tool specifically designed for family child care homes to collect basic information about:

• Which faucets or fixtures are used for drinking or cooking for the children in your care?
• Whether those sources have water filters installed.
• What type of fixtures are they?
• Address and contact information verification.

If you have any questions about this process or need assistance before your site visit, please contact us at TestandFixWater@state.co.us.

After your sampling plan is finalized, the contractor will either deliver a kit so you can collect early-morning water samples yourself, or schedule a morning site visit to collect the samples for you. Once the samples have been collected, the contractor will deliver the samples to the laboratory.

To ensure accurate lead results, the samples must be taken after water has been sitting unused in the pipes for 8–18 hours. The contractor will coordinate with you to select a day and time that meets this requirement. The visit will likely occur early in the morning. The contractor will need someone from your facility to give them access to the building. It is important that the sampling takes place in the early morning before anyone uses any water that day.

Here’s how to prepare for your scheduled sampling day:

• Do not use any water in your home the morning of your scheduled sampling — this includes faucets, showers, dishwashers, and flushing toilets.
• Make sure all members of your household are aware and avoid water use at least 8 hours before sampling (the night before).
• Avoid scheduling sampling right after returning from vacation or during long periods when the home has been unoccupied.

Once the samples are collected:

• The contractor will deliver them to the lab for testing.
• Lead results will be available within 1–2 months.

After your results are ready, our contractor will follow up to:

• Review your results with you.
• Provide support and guidance on any next steps, if needed.

After the lead results come back, you will receive an email from TestandFixWater@state.co.us with:

• A summary of your lead results.
• An explanation of what the results mean.
• Next steps for your home.

The email is in English and Spanish. When you receive the results, you can request materials in another language.

You are required to share these results with your employees and parents/guardians within two business days of receiving them. See our 'Lead Results Sample Letter' document above. The contractor will provide you with this document as well. Your full test results will also be published on the Test and Fix Water for Kids results webpage as soon as results are reported.

Understanding your results: If lead results are 4.4 ppb or lower

• No further action is required after you share results with staff and families.
• Your participation in the Test and Fix Water for Kids program is complete.
• You will receive a certificate of completion.

This program provides a one-time screening for all drinking water sources used for drinking and cooking for the children in your care. Regular testing is recommended every 3–5 years by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Regular retesting is not covered by Test & Fix Water for Kids.

You can still take easy steps to reduce lead — see our '4 Everyday Ways to Reduce Exposure to Lead In Drinking Water' document.

Understanding your results: If lead results are 4.5 ppb or higher

• Our contractor will contact you directly to talk about next steps.
• Immediately stop using that faucet or fixture for drinking or cooking.
• You can still use the water at that location for washing hands or dishes.
• Do not boil the water — boiling does not remove lead.
• Do not make any repairs until after you’ve heard from our team.

If your test results show that lead levels in any drinking or cooking taps are 4.5 parts per billion (ppb) or higher, then as soon as you receive your results you must:

• Stop using the taps that tested at 4.5 ppb or higher for drinking or cooking. Use a different water fixture for these purposes.
• Let parents and staff know the test results and that you have stopped using the affected fixtures for drinking or cooking.
• Create a plan to fix the issue for each fixture that tested at 4.5 ppb or higher. The contractor will help you make this plan.

Making the Plan

Each tap with lead levels at 4.5 ppb or higher needs its own plan. The contractor will help you make a plan for fixing each affected fixture. Options may include:

• Cleaning the faucet aerator/screen and testing again.
• Replacing the faucet.
• Fixing the pipes or plumbing under the sink.
• Installing filters if fixing the faucet or plumbing doesn’t lower lead levels below 4.5 ppb.
• Deciding that the faucet can not be used for drinking and cooking. Hand washing and dishwashing are activities that do not pose a health risk. We can provide you with signs to remind your water users that this sink is not for drinking.

The contractor will guide you through all the steps and will provide you with a professional who can do the work, or will give you the option to do the work based on an approved estimate. Do NOT start fixing anything until the plan is approved. Starting work without an approved plan could delay the process and affect your ability to receive free assistance.

Remediation to reduce lead levels to below 4.5 ppb is free under this program. In most cases the contractor will handle sampling and remediation costs. 

Our contractor will help you complete the fixes within 90 days of getting your results. They will schedule a time that will be the least disruptive for your facility. After fixing all issues found, a follow-up test (called a confirmation sample) is required and will be collected by the contractor to make sure the lead levels are 4.4 ppb or lower. The fixture can only be used for cooking or drinking after the confirmation test shows the lead has been reduced.

If the lead level is 4.5 ppb or higher after fixing the issue(s), the contractor will help you decide what other fixes may be needed to lower the lead further and will schedule a time to complete those. All fixes proposed by the contractor and agreed to by you are free of charge.

However, if you would like to sample or remediate on your own, you must get prior approval for the activities and the costs from our contractor and you must save all receipts. This is considered reimbursable remediation where you are paid back after you complete the work. Please reach out to our contractor if you are considering performing work yourself or hiring a professional directly.

The following lists describe what potentially can and cannot be reimbursed:

Potential Services Covered

• Lead analysis from a certified lab.
• Permanent signage for non-drinking taps.
• Fixture/faucet/drinking water fountains replacement
• Aerator replacement.
• Permanent removal of fixtures.
• Replacement of plumbing (pipes, solder, valves).
• Installation of point-of-use filter device (with 2 years of filter replacement).
• Replacement filters (for up to two years).
• Bottle filling stations.

Services Not Covered

• Lead service line replacement.
• Actions at water fixtures with less than 4.5 ppb of lead.
• Actions at fixtures not part of the licensed portion of your home or not used for cooking or drinking for the children in your care.
• Outdoor spigots. Please note that outdoor spigots can be used for water play, but should not be used as drinking water sources as these fixtures are not designed for that purpose.
• Actions, fixes, or sampling done before enrolling in this program or work done outside of this program.
• Costs incurred without prior approval.
• Costs already paid for through another grant program.
• Contractor labor costs for sampling or development of sampling plans if the entity hires someone outside of the department’s provided contractor.